Madison, WI – State Sen. Duey Stroebel (R – Saukville), a double alumnus of the University of Wisconsin – Madison, issued the below statement critical of the University’s COVID-19 plan for next semester. The plan, according to a press report, requires students to track and share their own health data via an application on their phone. Ominously, non-compliance with the plan will result in unspecified “negative consequences.”

“Increased testing for COVID-19 next semester makes sense, but I strongly disagree with the University’s decision to embrace what sounds like an Orwellian invasion of student privacy. Forcing students to use an application on their phone to track test compliance and subsequently share that data with ‘trained employees’ who ‘will stand guard outside buildings’ conjures images of a state-run campus in a repressive regime.

“No person should be required to place their health information on a smart phone app that in real-time shares that information with other users in the vicinity. Cyber security experts regularly warn us of the dangers of over-sharing personal information in a digital age. This new UW policy appears to require just that.”

“I encourage the University to consider less invasive and controlling methods for keeping their staff and students healthy during this time.”

Senator Stroebel represents the 20th Senate District which includes parts of Ozaukee, Washington, Fond du Lac, Calumet and Sheboygan Counties.

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